Fairies and Corpses
by Big J the Gohan Lover
Summary: It has been two months since the battle with Tartarus. It was the hardest battle Fairy Tail had fought yet. But now, it's time for the S-Rank Exam, and everyone is doing their best to win! But, Fairy Tail is known for its power, and some Dark Guilds want that power. Suddenly, everything that could possibly go wrong for Fairy Tail goes very, very wrong. T-Plus for language.


So, hey everyone! I'm Big J, the DBZ nut. But about a month and a half before I started this, someone told me to read Fairy Tail. I did, and now it's my favorite manga! :D I have only read a few FT fics, in order to retain originality once I start one and to not be influenced by others' ideas. So, if I decide to include canon pairings (I don't like things like GraLi, NaMi, or DroLu, Mavis forbid), the main focus will probably be on NaLu with some GaLe and maybe Gruvia. So, this is my first FT fic, so I have no idea how good it'll be. So please, bear with me, and tell me what you think! Anything to make this story better! :D

By the way, updates may take anywhere between four days and a month, since I have a hard time getting my computer to work sometimes, and I will alternate between updating this and another fanfic. So please, if I take a bit, be patient.

Another note: There are direct and vague references made to later chapters of Fairy Tail not released in America, and maybe not even officially released in Japan itself! If you only have watched the anime, and have not read the manga, then you probably are still in the middle of the Daimatou Enbu Arc. There is a mini arc, the Sun Village Arc, following that, and then the Tartarus Arc, which is still in progress. You can read it on sites like Mangapanda. But hey, they're continuing the anime in April in Japan. So, hooray! :D

At this point, I have read up to chapter 367. If there are inconsistencies, then I will later change this chapter accordingly.

Enough with me. Enjoy the story! :)

Disclaimer: I don't even own any Fairy Tail manga or figures or posters or anything, let alone the whole series!

* * *

Chapter 1: The S-Rank Exam

It had been about two months since the battle with the Dark Guild Tartarus. That had probably been one of the toughest battles Fairy Tail had ever fought. Most of the members of the guild had been badly injured. The Nine Demon Gates were very powerful.

Some of the members were still recovering from that battle. Natsu was fine, as he tends to heal fairly quickly. But Erza was still healing from what Kyouka did to her. Juvia, Lucy, Lisanna, Elfman, and Gray were more or less okay now. But Elfman was still moping about his fight with Sayla, and the 'aftermath' of it. He didn't like talking about it, naturally, but had said he'd get over it, if he was a 'real man.' Mira was all right, too. She had gotten out of the battle relatively unscathed. Laxus had just recently gotten over the illness he got from Tempesta.

So, yeah. Everything had been going great. Especially for our favorite little Dragon Slayer Natsu.

"YOOOSSSHHH!" He cried out, jumping out of bed and rushing into his clothes. "Happy, wake up! The S-Rank Exam is s'posed to start today! We gotta get to the guild and see who's participating!"

"Nnn... Huh...?" muttered a drowsy Happy, rubbing one eye. "Wuzzat today...?"

"Hurry up, Happy! You're so slow today!" Natsu didn't even bother to clarify again for his best friend. He was just so excited! He was gonna kick everybody's asses! Not even bothering to check for any food in the fridge, he grabbed the blue Exceed and bolted out the door, leaving a trail of dust behind.

* * *

_BLAAAT! BLAAAT! BLAAAT!  
_

"Uhnn, five more minutes..." Lucy muttered from under her pillow. She was well aware that the S-Rank Exam's participants were supposed to be announced that morning. But she was just so _tired_. She slammed the snooze button on her alarm clock, but it only went off again a few minutes later.

"Fine, I'm up, I'm up...!" She finally got out of bed, rather sluggishly, and decided the first thing she needed was a shower. So she threw her light pajamas into the laundry basket for later, and stepped into the hot water. It was just the thing to wake her up. Still somewhat sleepy, she turned off the water and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel. Now she just had to get her clothes on, find something to eat, and WHY THE HELL IS GRAY SITTING ON HER BED HALF NAKED?!

"Heya Lucy."

"GRAY, WHY ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE?! IN MY BEDROOM WITH JUST YOUR BOXERS ON, NO LESS!"

Gray looked down and seemed mildly surprised to only see his boxers, but he didn't seem too worried about it. "Oh. In that case can I borrow one of your shirts?"

"Of course not! Now tell me why you're in my bedroom!"

"Well," he said, shrugging off his denied clothing rights, "the S-Rank Exam is today, and you weren't at the guild. I figured you slept in, so I came here to wake you up, but you were already showering."

"So why are you still here?" Lucy deadpanned.

Ignoring Lucy's question, Gray said, "So, hurry and get your clothes on or whatever so we can go."

"Yeah, right! Get out of here so I can change!" When the ice mage made no move to get up from her bed, Lucy threw up her hands in exasperation. "Fine, I'll just change in the bathroom! But you better not be in here when I get out!" Still in her towel, she grabbed some clothes from her drawer, then walked back into the bathroom.

When she emerged, fully clothed, she found Gray digging through her drawer and trying to fit into a pair of her capris. "I SAID NO CLOTHING!"

* * *

Fairy Tail was just as rambunctious as ever, if not even more so. There was chatter everywhere about the exam, in particular. Everyone wanted to know who was participating, what challenges there would be, where it would take place, and anything and everything else about it.

At some point, Macao repeatedly beat his fist- and his mug- on a table. "I know I'm gonna get in this time! I'm the guy who defeated nineteen Vulcans, remember! I deserve to get in!"

"You're disturbing my drinking..." Cana said dangerously. Macao shut up, sensing her wrath, but the damage was done. The cards were drawn, and before anyone knew it, there was a guild-wide brawl.

The guild was a mess by the time Team Natsu burst through the doors.

"Aww, yeah!" Natsu yelled, jumping onto one still-somehow-intact table and pumping a fist. "Natsu's here, everybody, and ready to kick some ass!"

"Aye, sir!"

"Oh yeah, Flame Brain? How do you know _you_ won't get your ass kicked?" a now fully-clothed Gray countered. "By me, most likely."

"Oh, get real, Ice Boxers! Say that when you have a shirt on, you pervert!"

"Hey, my shirt! You took it again, didn't you, you flaming piece of shit!"

"You can't prove nothing, Droopy Eyes!"

"Oh yeah, Fireplace?!"

"Stripper!"

"Pinky!"

"Iceface!"

"There they go again," said Lucy, facepalming.

"Enough from you two," Erza said sternly. "Or would you like to go on a mission together and miss the exam?"

The two stopped immediately. "A-Aye..."

"That's enough from all of you!" Erza called out. Needless to say, the fighting stopped almost instantly.

"Shhh!" Nab said from his spot by the request board. "The Master's about to give the announcement!"

Everyone looked up to the second floor, and sure enough, Makarov sat on his usual perch with beer in hand.

"It seems like you're all here," he said. "Do we have everybody? Raise your hand if you're absent." No one spoke, but Lucy sweatdropped. "Alright then. So, as you all know, the S-Rank Exam was interrupted a few months ago, or years, for most of us, due to... was it funding?" Most of the guild, who hadn't been on the island when Acnologia attacked it, nodded, so the Guild Master went on. "So, I have decided that the exam will begin today." The whole guild cheered.

"However, I have also decided that the exam will not take place on Tenrou Island," Makarov continued. Everyone looked around in confusion. Weren't most, if not all, of the Fairy Tail S-Rank Exams held on Tenrou Island? Why not this time? "Surely you all remember that is was at Tenrou Island, believed to only to be accessible by Fairy Tail's own members, thanks to Mavis's barrier spell, where we had been ambushed by the Dark Guild Grimoire Heart of the Balam Alliance? Therefore, the island can no longer be considered safe for holding the exams any longer." Many murmurings were heard among the guild.

"But isn't it tradition to hold the exams on the island?"

"We can tough out whatever anyone throws at us!"

"Except if Acnologia shows up again..."

"Be a man, already!"

"But... I'm a girl..."

"ENOUGH OUT OF YOU BRATS!" Everyone shut up. "I have made my decision, and, as sad as I am with it, it is final, and it must be done. However, Wendy has told me of another place where we could hold the exam. Wendy, could you please come up here?"

The crowd parted in order to let the Sky Dragon Slayer through. "Um, okay..." she said, feeling rather nervous. She cautiously walked up the stairs to the second floor and took her place by Makarov. The Guild Master nodded at her, smiling encouragingly, so she began. "W-Well, back when I was with Grandine, she, um, she told my of an island... in the sky..." People gasped. Wendy paused, not much liking to be the center of attention. "A-Actually, the island is where Grandine normally lives. But, um, since she's kind of, you know, missing... I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we borrowed if for a day or two." The whole thing sounded silly, even to her own ears, but if it was a way to be able to promote the guild members to S-Rank and be able to take tougher missions (and therefore make more much-needed money), then she guessed any options were welcome.

"B-But," stammered Lisanna from somewhere near the back. "How are we ever going to get there?"

"Don't you worry about that," Makarov said, grinning. "I convinced the Council to let us borrow an airship to get there. The whole trip should take about a week, maybe longer, as the island is floating many miles above Stella.

"I wonder what he had to tell them to convince them into lending him a ship," Jet muttered to Droy. "Not the truth, surely!"

"H-How about we find the Exceed and make them fly us there?!" Natsu called out, paling. "I won't live through a week of... urk... transportation... flying... ughhh..." The fire mage's cheeks swelled up just thinking about flying in an airship.

"First things first," said Makarov, ignoring Natsu completely, "I must announce the participants for this exam. There are going to be twelve participants this year, in teams of three." He paused, giving everyone time to fret about their Master's choice. "Team One shall be... Juvia... Gray..." "DAMMIT!" "...and Freed." The mages nodded, Gray glumly, Juvia excitedly.

"Yes, Juvia thinks that we will win for sure!" said the blunette.

"With me here, we may just have a chance," Freed said calmly.

"I don't wanna be here." Gray's lightly tinted cheeks supposedly said otherwise.

"Team two will be... Lucy... Natsu... and Wendy."

"Yeah, I'm all fired up!"

"Huh? M-Me?! Really?"

"Well, at least I got grouped up with my own team," Lucy said cheerfully.

"Hey, it hardly seems fair that one group is formed of members of the same team, yet not the other," Gray complained.

"Would you like to be on my team then, Ice Pants?" Natsu said, smirking smugly.

"You wish I was on your team, Flame Breath," Gray replied, returning a smirk of his own when Natsu's eye twitched.

"Now now," Makarov interrupted, "I assure you that the teams were selected randomly."

"Maybe it's Lucy's luck!" Natsu yelled, fist-pumping. "We can't lose with luck on her side! Hahahaaahh!"

Lucy looked slightly downwards when Natsu said that. Sure, he was talking about being lucky in general, but really, even he believed that it originated from her. It was like he was complimenting her indirectly! Lucy looked to Levy, her trusted, if not a little gossipy, friend, only to see her making teasing kissing faces at her. The celestial mage flushed. "How embarrassing..."

"Team three," Makarov continued, "will be... Elfman... Evergreen... and Happy."

"Yay, I made it!"

"Ughh, why did I have to get grouped with two idiots...?" Evergreen muttered.

"Aye!"

"I was talking about you too, stupid cat."

"Yeah, I'm gonna win this!" Elfman called, getting excited. "LIKE A MAN!"

"And last, but not least," said the Guild Master, "is team four. Levy... Pantherlily... and Gajeel."

"AWW, COME ON!" Macao yelled.

"Calm down, dad..." Romeo muttered. "There's always next year.

"So, I um... got grouped with Gajeel, huh...?" Levy said, slightly flustered and tapping her index fingers together.

"So it looks like I'm with the midget, huh," Gajeel said, scratching the back of his head. "Geehee! This'll be fun, especially since Natsu's in, too!"

"These seem like very odd coincidences," Lily said quietly to himself.

"Looks like someone's been going nuts with the power couples, huh?!" Bickslow called out, noticing the red faces of many fairies. "All that's missing is a little RoWen team! Hahaah! That's hilarious!"

"Ahem, well, yes, this is rather odd," Makarov commented. "I really don't know why it came out this way..." Down below, Gildarts barely suppressed a chuckle. "But these are the selected teams, so we all have to deal with it. We leave in three hours. Use these three hours to eat, rest, decide team names, whatever you kids want. But be inside the guild in three hours' time. The rules will be explained on the way to the island. I will see you then." Makarov then jumped from his favorite railing and disappeared into his office, leaving Fairy Tail to start talking and scheming.

* * *

The Magic Council had to go under new employment, as the demon Jackal had kind of killed everybody. The building was still going through reconstruction, also because of Jackal. The ten members were talking about the strange request for an airship.

"There's no way they just wanna go sightseeing!" yelled one member, a young man wish cropped blond hair and piercing green eyes. "I still can't believe you just... _gave_ it to them!"

"Calm down, Ira," said an older member, a man with long, brown hair and a beard, both with gray streaks, named Lenio.

"Don't you tell me to calm down!" Ira yelled, slamming his hands on the large table. "This whole thing is just outrageous!"

"I agree with you," said yet another member, a woman with pale green hair that reached the small of her back. "However, I believe we should see what their true intentions are."

"You're right about that, Musa," replied Mirus, a man with deep auburn hair that seemed rather tousled. "I do wonder what Fairy Tail is up to this time."

"Hey, isn't this around the time when most guilds hold their S-Rank Exams?" questioned Laetor, a peppy man, despite being middle-aged, wish very short purple hair and bright eyes.

"But couldn't they have just, well, I dunno, borrowed a boat or something?!" Ira demanded. "I mean, they _do_ hold their exams on Tenrou Island, don't they?!"

"But remember that the island went missing seven years ago," Musa replied. "And though it has reappeared, no one knows why it disappeared in the first place. What if it were to happen again? We wouldn't want a missing guild, now would we?"

"Maybe they were behind it all along!" yelled Ira, getting especially frustrated. "We should stop them before they do something REALLY stupid!"

"I say we leave them be," said a woman with long, black hair, a seductive smile, and a very curvy body. The aura she gave was sweet, almost like honey. But the other Council members weren't fooled for a second.

"But, Dolus..." stammered Ira, turning somewhat pale.

"We already voted to lend the airship to Makarov, didn't we?" Dolus continued in her soft, silky voice. "What's done is done. All we can do now... is wait." The female mage mentally smiled to herself. _This whole thing might just get interesting after all..._

* * *

So there's chapter one of this fic out of the way! :D I hope you all liked it so far! The Council is all my creation, based off of older OCs for another anime that I just never used. Do you like any of them so far? Are you curious about their names? Did I do something wrong in the story? Please tell me! Anything I can do to make this better, criticism included, is always welcome. :) And please tell me how I did. Reviews always make an author happy. Reviews are the life blood of all writers.

Big J


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